Man, I love Mama-Bears.
Enjoying the Small Things
Friday, January 14, 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Chicken Posole
Alright, fine! It's true. A lot, not all, but a lot of what I make for supper comes from a recipe that I've run across. When it comes to cooking, I lack the creative know-how to come up with a dish on my own. I have some things that my Mama taught me how to make, some things that I find on websites and in magazines and if I'm really being honest... some that sometimes come from a bag. Yikes!
Anyways, on days like today when it's so blistery, blustery cold in our little spot of the south, all that we want around here is soup. So here's a soup that will for sure, no doubt, make you feel like this lady...
It's called Chicken Posole and alright fine - it's from Real Simple. Now I did use cooked and shredded chicken breasts, chick peas instead of hominy (cause I don't know what that is) and I threw in some black beans cause I dig them. I guess you could substitute tofu for the chicken (waddup Barto!) but the lime is essential so make sure you add a little squeeze to each bowl. I also had to do some ingredient separating when I served up the kids bowls, but it hit the spot so give it a try.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 dried ancho chili, thinly sliced, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat
1 15-ounce can hominy, rinsed
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and
beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Add the broth, tomatoes, and chili and bring to a boil.
4. Stir in the chicken and hominy and simmer until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Serve the posole with the lime wedges.
Anyways, on days like today when it's so blistery, blustery cold in our little spot of the south, all that we want around here is soup. So here's a soup that will for sure, no doubt, make you feel like this lady...
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 32-ounce container low-sodium chicken broth
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 dried ancho chili, thinly sliced, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken meat
1 15-ounce can hominy, rinsed
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and
beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Add the broth, tomatoes, and chili and bring to a boil.
4. Stir in the chicken and hominy and simmer until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Serve the posole with the lime wedges.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
It Will Forever Change You
When I was visiting over at Dig this Chick the other day, she posted this picture that absolute drew the breath out of me:
I never knew that snowflakes like this really existed. Sure, I've seen pictures but I never really knew if they were real. Seeing as how Dig this Chick lives in Missoula, MT and so did my little brother for a spell, I decided to ask him about it. Montana holds a very dear and near place in my heart as I'm sure that is where my brother was born for the second time and taught him a way to live life as a harmonious symphony between body and nature. Here is what he had to say about the snowflakes and his first love, Sweet Montana.
"That is the case for all snowflakes, MT or not. No two flakes are the same and are impossible to replicate. Now does the snow in MT hold a special place in my heart, certainly. They fall like goose feathers and can get so big you can feel the weight of them on your face. There were many a night that I'd be stumbling home from Charlie's and stop and try to soak up the winter night in that sketchy alley, or in Alberton and listen as you can damn near here them falling through the sky. It isn't just the hikes and the views and the crazy times I had that I miss most because although those are burned in my memory and I could go back and they could be replicated. It is the sounds, smells and the spiritual grapple of the place as a whole that can bring me to my knees. There is a Celtic Tale of 'Thin Places' that explains this feeling that I have a little better.
A 'Thin Place' is an extraordinary place, most often found in the wild, where it is as though the line between the physical and spiritual worlds is so thin that it seems that they are one. You could never find these places should you seek them however you can find yourself if you are there, and it is an almost erie feeling when you have stumbled, hiked or wandered into them. You know it, something is happening all around you, almost like you are being watched by millions but there is no one there.
I miss Montana, I miss my mind."
I'm posting this especially for my children. Please go find this place and never forget it. Remember it always and it will forever change you.
I never knew that snowflakes like this really existed. Sure, I've seen pictures but I never really knew if they were real. Seeing as how Dig this Chick lives in Missoula, MT and so did my little brother for a spell, I decided to ask him about it. Montana holds a very dear and near place in my heart as I'm sure that is where my brother was born for the second time and taught him a way to live life as a harmonious symphony between body and nature. Here is what he had to say about the snowflakes and his first love, Sweet Montana.
"That is the case for all snowflakes, MT or not. No two flakes are the same and are impossible to replicate. Now does the snow in MT hold a special place in my heart, certainly. They fall like goose feathers and can get so big you can feel the weight of them on your face. There were many a night that I'd be stumbling home from Charlie's and stop and try to soak up the winter night in that sketchy alley, or in Alberton and listen as you can damn near here them falling through the sky. It isn't just the hikes and the views and the crazy times I had that I miss most because although those are burned in my memory and I could go back and they could be replicated. It is the sounds, smells and the spiritual grapple of the place as a whole that can bring me to my knees. There is a Celtic Tale of 'Thin Places' that explains this feeling that I have a little better.
A 'Thin Place' is an extraordinary place, most often found in the wild, where it is as though the line between the physical and spiritual worlds is so thin that it seems that they are one. You could never find these places should you seek them however you can find yourself if you are there, and it is an almost erie feeling when you have stumbled, hiked or wandered into them. You know it, something is happening all around you, almost like you are being watched by millions but there is no one there.
I miss Montana, I miss my mind."
I'm posting this especially for my children. Please go find this place and never forget it. Remember it always and it will forever change you.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
The Big Picture Is Amazingly Beautiful
I love New Year's Day. I've said that it is my favorite day of the year but then I was quickly reminded that it isn't. It's my second. I forgot that I'm a big fan of my birthday.
For the first few hours of New Year's Day, I've won the lottery. I like to wait as long as I can hold out to check my ticket because from the moment my eyes see the light of the new day, I'm a big winner. And I'm gonna send this kid and that kid to college and buy land and horses and give this person that much and this person this much and give 25% to climate causes, 25% to poor kids, 25% to Farm Aid and then have supper at my house with Willy Nelson and Bruce Springsteen. They're big Farm Aid supporters you know.
But then I check my ticket and I go back to just being grateful for what it is that I do have and not so worried about tax ramifications.
New Year's Day. It's a fresh baited hook. It's when you're coming around a mountain and you can't wait to see the view. It's an ultrasound really. A small part of a bigger picture. Like a little match that can light a fire of hope. Of possibility. Turn a maybe to a gonna. There's no other day of the year that makes you think "Oh, yes I can" more than New Year's will.
I don't like resolutions. Can't stand the pressure. But I do like the promise that comes with New Year's that we all make to ourselves in some sort of way - This Year Will Be Different. It's our universal wish to make the year better somehow.
My eyes turn to crystal balls on New Year's Day and when I look through them, I see a year ahead that is bright and fantastic. I can't see the details, but on today, the big picture is amazingly beautiful.
For the first few hours of New Year's Day, I've won the lottery. I like to wait as long as I can hold out to check my ticket because from the moment my eyes see the light of the new day, I'm a big winner. And I'm gonna send this kid and that kid to college and buy land and horses and give this person that much and this person this much and give 25% to climate causes, 25% to poor kids, 25% to Farm Aid and then have supper at my house with Willy Nelson and Bruce Springsteen. They're big Farm Aid supporters you know.
But then I check my ticket and I go back to just being grateful for what it is that I do have and not so worried about tax ramifications.
New Year's Day. It's a fresh baited hook. It's when you're coming around a mountain and you can't wait to see the view. It's an ultrasound really. A small part of a bigger picture. Like a little match that can light a fire of hope. Of possibility. Turn a maybe to a gonna. There's no other day of the year that makes you think "Oh, yes I can" more than New Year's will.
I don't like resolutions. Can't stand the pressure. But I do like the promise that comes with New Year's that we all make to ourselves in some sort of way - This Year Will Be Different. It's our universal wish to make the year better somehow.
My eyes turn to crystal balls on New Year's Day and when I look through them, I see a year ahead that is bright and fantastic. I can't see the details, but on today, the big picture is amazingly beautiful.
Friday, December 31, 2010
'Til Next Year!
This video is proof of what an amazing daddy Daddy really is. Take a look at his latest creation. Be sure to mute my playlist first at the bottom of this page.
'Til next year!
'Til next year!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
How Old They Are
So often I look at your faces and I think to myself, I'm going to miss you so much when you're grown. When you're standing right in front of me and you're an adult and I'm so proud of you and all that you've accomplished. I'll miss the little you. But I never tell you because I know you won't understand what I mean.
But last night, Lil' looked right at me and said, "Mama, I'm gon miss you when I go up." She was talking about when she has a house of her own and she doesn't live with me anymore. But I think on some level, we get eachother. She loves being little and I love that she is.
These are the days, we'll look back on and miss. The little yous. The little runny noses. The times when children in our house loved Christmas and believed in all that is possible. It must have been a sad day for my Mama when we all grew up. I guess from that day on, you wait for your grandbabies to crawl around your house with their simple perfect belief in magic.
It's here now and we're all wrapped up in it like a big thick blanket. I'm so thankful for my babies and their wild-eyed view of the world. I know that I will miss this one day but I also know that there is a whole other chapter of babies that will fill me up with the wonder and joy of the season. May we all see Christmas the way our children do, no matter how old they are.
But last night, Lil' looked right at me and said, "Mama, I'm gon miss you when I go up." She was talking about when she has a house of her own and she doesn't live with me anymore. But I think on some level, we get eachother. She loves being little and I love that she is.
These are the days, we'll look back on and miss. The little yous. The little runny noses. The times when children in our house loved Christmas and believed in all that is possible. It must have been a sad day for my Mama when we all grew up. I guess from that day on, you wait for your grandbabies to crawl around your house with their simple perfect belief in magic.
It's here now and we're all wrapped up in it like a big thick blanket. I'm so thankful for my babies and their wild-eyed view of the world. I know that I will miss this one day but I also know that there is a whole other chapter of babies that will fill me up with the wonder and joy of the season. May we all see Christmas the way our children do, no matter how old they are.
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